Yesterday night, Dartmouth Police swooped in on a fugitive tucked away at the local Best Western Motel. The man under the spotlight, Royleton Haston, Jr., a 22-year-old Plymouth resident, was rounded up by a SWAT team for an array of charges ranging from assault and battery to outright defiance of police orders. According to Boston 25 News, the ordeal unfolded after Dartmouth Police Officer Alex Tisdelle spotted a vehicle linked to Haston, a figure already notorious for prior police run-ins.
The swift apprehension of Haston at approximately 8:50 p.m. is credited to a collaboration between the local law enforcement and the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council SWAT team, called in due to Haston's tendency for violence and evasion. As The Week Today details, Dartmouth Police Detective Matthew Correia rolled out a search warrant for Haston's motel room in record time, facilitating a rapid and uneventful arrest.
The scene after entering the motel was tense, but the SWAT team members secured the hallway and apprehended Haston without a snag. This marks yet another incident where hotels and motels become the temporary hideouts for those running from the law. "Sadly, dangerous fugitives such as Haston, Jr. are frequently being found while hiding in the hotels and motels in our town," Dartmouth Chief of Police Brian Levesque lamented in a statement obtained by Boston 25 News.
Haston's rap sheet is heavy with seven warrants which include assault and battery on a correctional facility employee, two counts of assault and battery with a bodily substance, malicious destruction to a motor vehicle, and violating an abuse prevention order. This latest run-in with the law underscores the persistence and danger that individuals like Haston pose to the community, and the tireless efforts of law enforcement to bring them to justice. As Chief Levesque further stated, "Had it not been for the keen observation of a new officer, and the rapid response of the numerous assets available to us, it is more than likely that Haston, Jr. would still be putting the public in danger by once again eluding arrest."
